CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – A machine press mega load is scheduled to begin a trip from Rome, Georgia, heading for the Ocean Terminal in Savannah, Georgia at 8 PM Tuesday, September 22, 2015. The 205-foot long, 14-foot-8-inch wide and 15-foot-6-inch tall rig mega load will leave the GE plant in Rome on a tactical route that will take it to State Route (SR) 1 Loop and turning left onto SR 53, right on SR 140 and entering I-75 South around 9:15 PM.
The 383,000 pound turbine rotor load will continue on I-75 South to I-285 East. It will stay on I-285 eastbound lanes until it turns right onto I-20 East around 12:40 AM on Wednesday, September 23. The Supersized load will continue on I-20 to the Columbia County Eastbound Scales and stop at the rest area around 3:20 AM.
The Mega load will then depart this location at 8 p.m. to head through Richmond County via I-520 before entering Jenkins, Screven and finally Chatham County where it reaches its final
destination at the Ocean Terminal in Savannah around 11:50 PM on Wednesday, September 23.
Night traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday in Northwest, Metro-Atlanta, East Central and Southeast Georgia regions will be impacted, slowed or even stopped at some points due to the excessive size of extremely oversized load. Two Georgia State Patrol officers with blue lights and marked cars will be accompanying the load to pace traffic, when so warranted by the traffic control. The mega load will also feature moving message boards warning of traffic interruptions at key bridges and/or intersections. Normal travel speed is 45 mph but it slows to 5 mph when crossing certain bridge structures. Narrow bridge locations will require escorts to restrict the passing of other vehicles, while the permit vehicle is crossing.